Chapter 47: Over the Perfect (4)

Lee Kyungbok’s perception detected sharp hostility like being pricked by thorns all around him.

My position has been revealed.

He had anticipated this sudden onslaught of hostility. After his dramatic entrance via aerial bombardment, it would have been strange if snipers and bounty hunters in other buildings hadn’t noticed his arrival. Therefore, it was natural for them to start firing first.

With each gunshot, concrete fragments from the building’s railing splintered off near him.

-Lol, why are there so many participants with incredible survival skills?

-This is getting tough…

-In a sniper battle, identifying your opponent’s location first is crucial.

-Sticking out your head seems like an instant kill move.

Some viewers quickly assessed the situation. In a sniper battle, locating one’s opponent is paramount, but Lee Kyungbok had inadvertently exposed his position right from the start.

Moreover, he was outnumbered, and any ordinary person would have immediately sensed defeat.

-Gadfly truly…!

-In this situation too, will he be [Perfect]?!

-[Hallelujah]! I believe in him!

-Lol anyway, he’ll win somehow

However, Lee Kyungbok wasn’t an ordinary person, so viewers weren’t overly worried.

“It seems everyone wants to see my face, but I also want to see your faces.”

As expected, Lee Kyungbok remained composed. While chatting, he promptly descended to the second floor.

This action filled the chat window with question marks.

-Huh?

-Wait;;; Won’t it put you at a bigger disadvantage?!

-Aren’t his angles worse now?

-Diverting attention by moving first, perhaps?

-Lots of clueless ones here lol

In a sniper battle, elevation was crucial. Naturally, shooting down from above was easier than firing up from below. Yet Lee Kyungbok positioned himself at a lower vantage point near a second-story window compared to his opponents.

He then took a deep breath and immediately aimed his rifle, firing simultaneously. As the glass shattered, Lee Kyungbok swiftly moved away without looking back.

-???

-Huh?

-Was it a fake-out?

-Is he showing off his mental agility now?!

The viewers realized that he intentionally used a feint shot to confuse his opponent.

Their assumption held until the kill message appeared:

-[Perfect Play] > AWM-300 > Unstoppable Ace (Headshot!)

-What happened? How did this occur?

-Headshot?!

-Omg;; Did he aim just now?

-I didn’t even see him zooming in…

-How did he know that angle was there?

The chat window filled with question marks and confusion. Instead of explaining, Lee Kyungbok repeated the same maneuver by shifting his camera view.

[Perfect Play >> AWM-300 >> Rookie’s Aim (HEADSHOT!)]

[Perfect Play >> AWM-300 >> SandSandwich (HEADSHOT!)]

[Perfect Play >> AWM-300 >> BulletInYourBrain (HEADSHOT!)]

Kill messages continued to pop up as players left the scene one after another.

-What the hell is going on?!

-Nuke? Is Gorge using nukes?

-Gadfly leaves devastation wherever he goes, so yeah, it could be considered a nuke LMFAO

-Is Gorge actually aiming for speed?

-LMAO, he’s using instant zooms!!

Amidst the chaos of the chat window, some keen-eyed viewers realized what Lee Kyungbok was doing. The terms “fast zoom” and “instant zoom,” abbreviated as “f-zoom” and “i-zoom,” referred to the quick-scope technique, which involved firing immediately after aiming through the scope.

-Did he just pull off an i-zoom on Gorge?!

-No way! It wasn’t even close range but from that distance?!

-Not physical but magical

Quick-scoping was rarely seen in Gunner battles where ballistics played a crucial role. Even when employed, it typically occurred at short ranges with larger target areas. Given the long distance and varying elevations like in Lee Kyungbok’s current situation, precise aiming was essential, making quick-scoping nearly impossible.

-Gadfly! You’re on fire! Gadfly! You’re on fire!

-Ha-ha-ha! Is there anything you can’t do? Ha-ha-ha

-Looks like you really are God Almighty… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha

-Impressive how he immediately moves after each shot ha-ha

-???: It’s perfect aim every time.

Lee Kyungbok smiled faintly at the chat reactions as he swapped out his magazine.

Too bad.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing all enemy movements through his perception ability. They seemed to have changed their tactics and were abandoning the rooftops to hide inside buildings instead.

I could’ve taken care of them if I had more ammo.

The continuous kill notifications indicated that many hunters had given up resistance. Those who’d joined this raid for prize money now appeared determined to secure survival bonuses over kill rewards.

‘In that case, these people approaching must be snipers.’

However, some of them were emerging from their own buildings and heading towards his location. As they drew closer, he felt increasingly uneasy, confirming his suspicions.

-Look? I heard footsteps.

-Giving up on the sniper war?

-No way! Quickly throw a grenade!

-I’m 100% sure it’s a grenade!!

-Hurry ᄏᄏᄏ move your asses

-Ah, Gadfly will handle this.

Soon, one of them approached close enough for viewers to notice as well. Everyone knew what tactic the opposing team was aiming for: throwing explosives into the building to eliminate him. It was a reliable strategy in such situations, given how vulnerable camping or real estate meta strategies were against thrown weapons.

“I’ll—”

Lee Kyungbok sprang to his feet and, instead of running away, rushed toward the window facing his opponent.

“This tribute is…”

Just then, a grenade appeared before him. Without blinking, Lee Kyungbok grabbed his frying pan.

“Too much for me!” With a grin, he smacked the grenade back like it was tennis ball.

The force of the explosion reverberated up his arm, causing tingling sensations all the way to his wrist. Had this been an ordinary frying pan from real life, it wouldn’t have withstood the blast, but the one provided by Gunner Ground was completely bulletproof.

“Aaargh!”

[Ssagongshikiller > Frag Grenade > Ssagongshikiller]

A scream followed shortly after, accompanied by a kill notification.

-LMAO?!

-WTF? He blocked it with a frying pan?

-Holy;;; Is that even possible?

-In Gadfly’s stream, “is that even possible” is banned!

-LOL keep ’em coming!

-Editor-nim! Please make a meme about “is that even possible”!

-LMAO, that was so refreshing

The viewers’ reactions were instantaneous.

-The broadcast keeps exceeding my expectations every second

-I’ve accidentally blocked bullets before but never grenades

-Wouldn’t throwing yourself on top of it be the normal reaction?

-Dumbass? No, he’s a genius!

-LMAO, his gameplay is unheard-of

-No way…who would think to throw a grenade?!

-This will probably become another challenge soon, huh?

-The Grenade Smash Challenge, anyone?

Lee Kyungbok checked the chat and casually responded.

“As you can see, it’s not particularly difficult. Just stay calm and hit it straight.”

-Ah I’m not falling for this anymore!

-God of Deception, Gadfly…!

-Haha, how could anyone stay calm there?

–It’s easy from God’s perspective ^^

–Don’t forget that Gadfly is a pro!

–Ha-ha! Gadfly isn’t just any paper-tier hunter but a unicorn among them.

–His reach is on another level

While viewers chatted away, Lee Kyungbok continued eliminating participants approaching from different directions. Eventually, all that remained were those hiding inside buildings.

“Well, it seems like hide-and-seek time.” Lee Kyungbok decided to leave his current location and track down the remaining contestants.

If I just wait here quietly, the broadcast won’t be entertaining…

More importantly, he wanted to reward the true fans who had joined this event for him by letting some of them survive.

–LMAOLOLOLOL

–Sponsors, run for your lives!

–Hide welllll… Good luck!

-LMAO u gonna shoot as soon as u see them LOL

-LOL they turned into bear games right away, didn’t they?

-ROFL how is this Battle Royale?

Finding hidden participants wasn’t difficult for Lee Kyungbok. He systematically decreased the number of survivors in Uptown.

“Let’s see… It looks like there’s only one left.” He casually counted and announced it to his audience, but viewers couldn’t comprehend how he knew.

????

-How does he know that?

-Is it because he’s a god?

-Actually, maybe he has X-ray vision lol

How could Lee Kyungbok determine the exact count of people hiding in various buildings scattered throughout the area? His perception skill allowed him to do so, though he couldn’t exactly explain it to others.

“I counted them when falling towards Uptown.”

-LMAO… You could see everything while descending?

-LMAO So you’ve been counting your kills all this time?

-Killing List in his head ㅋㄷㄷ

-Not ‘Smile of Murder’ but ‘Murderous Smile’ ㅋㅋㅋ

-Cruel! So cruel!

-Demon: What? Are we supposed to emulate Purple?

As the viewers pushed him further, Lee Kyungbok laughed and climbed up the stairs.

They are waiting.

The continuous kill messages indicated that his opponent knew he was hunting hidden participants. Apparently, instead of continuing to hide, they were preparing for a counterattack. As soon as Lee Kyungbok appeared on the staircase, he anticipated being targeted. Unfortunately for his opponent, however, they were facing none other than Lee Kyungbok.

Lee Kyungbok slowly climbed up the stairs before suddenly picking up speed. His opponent, caught off guard, hastily pulled the trigger as soon as he appeared. But Lee Kyungbok had anticipated this and deflected the bullet with his frying pan, sending it ricocheting away with a clang.

“Argh!” It lodged itself in the head of the player who’d been lying prone to take aim.

-WTF?!

-OH???

-DAMN LMAO LMAO LMAO LMAO LMAO

-Did you plan that too?!

-LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

-Giving me chills LOL LOL LOL

-That’s just cruel LOL LOL LOL

As Lee Kyungbok read through the flood of incoming messages, he wrinkled his nose slightly.

Was that overkill?

He’d used Perception to predict the trajectory and successfully redirected the bullet. However, considering his previous displays of prowess, the viewers’ reactions had escalated from admiration to awe.

“No way! Even I’m surprised by this. Did it really work?”

Lee Kyungbok blinked his eyes exaggeratedly to feign disbelief.

-LOLLOLLOL

-Gadfly just got lucky LOL

-Haha! Even God needs luck sometimes

-Fact: Gadfly’s luck is also p-e-r-f-e-c-t.

-Lucky bastard LOL

-Didn’t you see him win 100 subs?! LOL

-Wow LOL No wonder he didn’t miss a single shot.

The viewers reacted as if they’d expected nothing less.

With that, the game ended quickly since the activated magnetic field killed off all the monsters before they could reach Uptown.

-In reality, Gadfly won most of the prize money with this strategy LOL

-LMAO, you die instantly if you enter Gadfly’s area.

-Wise decision to keep your distance from him!

-770 million won! Cha-ching!

In essence, the survival ranking was determined by the number of recovery items collected.

[Perfect Play.]

[Victory! Tonight’s dinner will be Korean beef!]

[Rank #1 / Kills: 72]

As soon as there was only one player left, the result messages appeared.

-72 kills

-Even though it’s just a practice game, impressive

-Including suicides, it seems close to 80 people were eliminated

-The walking embodiment of nuclear power

-LMAO, nuke-gasmic indeed

Despite displaying the results, the game room did not disappear because it had been created for a practice session. Consequently, Lee Kyungbok continued broadcasting from the rooftop of Uptown.

“Well then, that concludes our first-ever OTP tournament. I’d like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all ninety-nine participants and five thousand viewers who tuned in today!” Lee Kyungbok spoke with a wide grin on his face.

The number of viewers had surpassed fifty thousand, setting yet another record for him.

“And as some of you may have already noticed, this won’t be the last Gunner’s Ground OTP event. It will continue irregularly moving forward. Unfortunately, no one was able to surpass me this time around, which is disappointing.”

-LMAO king level

-LMAO he’s talking big knowing nobody can beat him

-Trolling much?

-Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!

-I wonder if I’ll ever live to see an OTP winner…

LMAO, never gonna happen! Not even if I’m dead LMAO

Well, you won’t see it once you’re dead anyway LOL

Lee Kyungbok’s smile widened at the viewers’ passionate reactions.

“But still, you’ll keep challenging him, right? Because we plan to roll over the prize money from this tournament to the next one. And if there’s no winner each time, the pot will just continue to grow!”

-WTF?

-No way!

-LMAO, Purple knows something we don’t LMAO

-Is this some kind of lottery now? LMAO

-At least with a lottery, there’s a chance of winning LMAO

-AHAHA, Purple doesn’t stand a chance!

-Once the prize gets big enough, won’t corporations start joining?

–LOL, it should be entertaining then.

Satisfied with the enthusiastic chat, Lee Kyungbok nodded contentedly.

“Well, I have something special to show you all today.”

His words immediately grabbed his viewers’ attention. Seeing the flood of question marks in the chat window, Lee Kyungbok took out a hand grenade and rolled it across the floor.

“This broadcast…”

Simultaneously, he pulled out a handgun and aimed at the grenade. With one shot, the safety pin on the rolling grenade popped off.

“Thank you for watching—”

He swiftly dashed forward, threw down a frying pan, and leaped up just as the grenade exploded.

He timed his jump onto the frying pan with the grenade’s explosion. The force of the blast propelled him high into the air as the frying pan clanged loudly beneath him.

“Thank you! Bye-bye!”

Stretching out like he was doing some yoga, he waved quickly and ended the broadcast.

-LMAOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

-Legend till the end LOLLLLLLLL

-Was that divine performance? Was that DIVINE PERFORMANCE?!

-Art is an explosion! Art is an explosion! Art is an explosion!

-The stream just cut off (for real)

-What the hell? LOLLLLLLL

-[Black Enterprise] blackout ending LOLLLLLL

-Manager: He actually did it.

-LMAOO Manager also shocked LMAO

-Hilarious for real LOLLLLL

As the screen went dark, the chat window exploded with messages.

Late at night, inside the Holycow team’s lodging, four of its members stared intently at their monitors with serious expressions on their faces.

“That school scene was insane.”

“Wow…is this really the same person?”

“I told you Gadfly wasn’t exaggerating.”

“Aww, I’m so jealous! Why didn’t we go to his school?”

The group watched footage from today’s One Trick Pony competition replay. As participants, they were able to view unedited raw footage thanks to the system. Since they had experienced firsthand the clash between Purple and themselves, they skipped that part and focused solely on the battle within the school setting.

“Hey, should I learn how to box?”

“You think it’s that easy?”

“It crossed my mind for a second too, but honestly, there’s no need for close-quarters combat in actual battles.”

“One glance at him and it’s obvious all he does is jump rope.”

The others laughed at their friend’s remark, but soon, they turned serious again.

“Wow… It looks like something out of a movie, but this is real life.”

“How does he pull off those footwork maneuvers?”

“Look at his face! He has nerves of steel. How can anyone not be fazed by that?”

“And then he immediately returns fire while changing direction… That was definitely a lead shot!”

They couldn’t hide their admiration as they watched Purple being ambushed inside the auditorium.

“Hey, could you do that?”

“How would I get headshots while running around?”

“I’d probably just roll on the ground.”

“But there’s no cover here, so wouldn’t you die instantly?”

“You’re right. Even if your aim isn’t perfect, mimicking his suppressive fire might increase your chances of survival.”

The four hunters nodded in agreement before flinching and turning toward the door.

“C-Coach!”

“Oh, sir, hello!”

“But it’s our day off… Why—?”

Their coach, dressed in team gear, had appeared behind them without their notice.

“You guys were thrilled to have the day off, yet here you are analyzing gameplay?” Despite his words, satisfaction was evident on the coach’s face. Who wouldn’t be pleased with rookies showing such passion after winning the collegiate league?

“So who is this person? Which team do they belong to?”

“No, that’s not… He isn’t a pro gamer.”

“What?” The coach looked taken aback.

The players fessed up immediately. “His name is Purple, and he’s a streamer.”

“…A streamer?” The coach frowned deeply.

While there were plenty of skilled gamers among streamers these days, professional gamers still took pride in their craft. How could pros learn anything from watching a streamer play?

Whew, they’re still young…

The coach decided to give them some leeway. After all, these players were college students who had only recently entered professional gaming, so it was understandable that their understanding of what constituted good play might be blurred.

I need to show them the difference.

He started playing Purple’s stream footage himself with the intention of pointing out its shortcomings and opening his team’s eyes. But instead…

“Wow…” Before he knew it, he found himself completely absorbed by the gameplay for very valid reasons.

Is this really the skill level of a mere streamer?

In his coaching career, the coach had seen many pro gamers, but none displayed such talent.

Seeing the coach’s reaction, Team Holycow felt validated as if it were their own achievement.

“Coach, do you know something even more amazing?”

“What?”

“This is only his second day playing Gorge.”

“What?!” The coach inadvertently yelled loud enough to shake the entire building, and he stood there with his jaw dropped open, still stunned by what he’d just heard.

Only two days?! Just two measly days?

His eyes darted around quickly before turning sternly toward his team members.

“He’s truly exceptional.”

“Yes, absolutely…”

“Playing alongside someone like him makes you want to step up your game, doesn’t it?”

“…Um?”

“Good. Since everyone’s here now, let’s start some ranked games right away.”

The Holycow players realized too late that they were being tricked.

“But Coach…!”

“We’re supposed to have today off, right?!”

“This is just too much!”

“Oh man…”

The coach ignored their complaints.

“You little brats! Do you know what this means on your team uniforms? Tier One stands for striving to be the best!”

Holycow had signed with Tier One, which consistently competed for first and second place among most esports leagues.

At his words, the four players reluctantly entered their respective capsules. However, Kyungbok’s mind was already elsewhere.

Purple, huh…

Those two letters were firmly etched in his brain.